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- On 10 August 2011, Professor Pham <br />Minh Hoang was sentenced to 3 <br />years in prison and 3 years under <br />house arrest for his alleged "activities <br />purporting to overthrow the <br />government." His sentence was <br />subsequently reduced under intense <br />international pressure and released. <br />- On 22 August 2011, Mr. Lu Van Bay <br />was sentenced to 3 years in prison <br />and 3 years under house arrest <br />allegedly for the same crime. <br />- On 10 November 2011, two Falun <br />Kung disciples, Vu Due Trung and <br />Le Van Thanh, were sentenced three <br />and two years in prison respectively <br />for their China - directed broadcasts. <br />Especially in the case of blogger Dieu Cay <br />Nguyen Van Hai, despite the fact that his <br />sentence had ended on 20 October 2010 for <br />his alleged failure to pay taxes (a state - <br />fabricated crime), he was sent back to prison <br />actually for his protest against China and his <br />affirmation of the Spratly and Paracels being <br />part of Vietnam. Since he was a main <br />member of the Free Journalists Club and the <br />Dan Bao website, he was accused of making <br />"anti -state propaganda." So far, his family <br />has not been allowed to visit him and told of <br />where he is detained, whether he is still alive <br />or not, although it had repeatedly sent <br />complaints and come to the police station for <br />information. The authorities' negative <br />attitude is a serious violation of not only the <br />freedom of speech mentioned in Vietnam's <br />Constitution but also its very own legal <br />procedures as well. <br />Vietnam Human Rights Network * Annual Report 2011 <br />II. POLITICAL RIGHTS STAND <br />NULLIFIED <br />The 1992 Constitution, amended and <br />supplemented in 2001, stipulates that the <br />citizen has the right to participate in the <br />government through elections (Articles 53 & <br />54), and the exercise of their freedom of <br />speech, freedom of assembly, freedom of <br />association, and freedom of demonstration <br />(Art. 69). However, in reality, with the <br />continuance of the single party totalitarian <br />system, those provisions are just cosmetic <br />labels to deceive the world. Vietnamese <br />citizens are, in fact, deprived of all rights to <br />peacefully choose their government system <br />and their representatives. People may not <br />hold political views different from the policy <br />of the CPV. All opposition groups are <br />suppressed and outlawed. <br />1. The Right to Take Part in Government <br />Like most countries in the world, Vietnam <br />regularly organizes elections for the <br />government at all levels. The National <br />Assembly is said by the Constitution to be <br />the highest organ of the state power to <br />represent the nation's population, appoint the <br />government, and make laws. Currently, <br />however, with the existing electoral and <br />parliamentary processes, it is merely an <br />instrument of the CPV. To be elected to the <br />National Assembly, candidates must be <br />approved and nominated by the Fatherland <br />Front, a peripheral body of the CPV, which <br />also assumes the supervisory role in all <br />elections. <br />There was no political party other than the <br />CPV allowed to participate in the elections <br />held in May 2011 to seats in the National <br />Assembly and People's Councils at all levels <br />for 2011 -2016 term. All candidates were <br />previously vetted and selected by the <br />Fatherland Front through "Consultative <br />